I always liked Flash as a character. Something about moving and thinking reeeeally quickly just appeals to me, and, though everyone seems to disagree with me, I think the costume is classic. I'd even go so far as to say that it's on par with Superman's or Spider-Man's.

When the Flash TV series was on (did it ever make it past that pilot?) I watched it. I remember watching that first tv movie/pilot about 25 times.

But I never really got into the comics.

That is, until last year. I was living with a friend who had a friend that had no interest in collecting comics but still read just about every title out there. He'd always give her his DC titles when he was done with them.

With issue #198, I started reading The Flash. I am still hooked. It's the first one I read when I get my books because it's always the one I'm looking forward to most.

I love the new twists on everything from racing against Superman to the new Reverse Flash / Professor Zoom.

Anyone else in the same boat?

This message brought to you by the letter C.

Zack: I'm pretty sure our soul is composed of a series of toy commercials that ran from 1984-1988. When we die Hasbro does with us what they please.

I personally don't read the Flash, but I like the character. And my friends who read it have nothing but good things to say about the book, and one of them usually hates everything he reads. Geoff Johns who writes the book is a fantastic writer in my opinion(I've read his other work). Also reviews for this book are usually pretty positive, so I'd tell someone to pick it up, and as soon as I can pick up some more cash I just may start picking it up too.

You can be pushed just so far, until one day the man has to claim what is rightfully his!

Originally posted by Crawler
I always liked Flash as a character. Something about moving and thinking reeeeally quickly just appeals to me, and, though everyone seems to disagree with me, I think the costume is classic. I'd even go so far as to say that it's on par with Superman's or Spider-Man's.

When the Flash TV series was on (did it ever make it past that pilot?) I watched it. I remember watching that first tv movie/pilot about 25 times.

But I never really got into the comics.

That is, until last year. I was living with a friend who had a friend that had no interest in collecting comics but still read just about every title out there. He'd always give her his DC titles when he was done with them.

With issue #198, I started reading The Flash. I am still hooked. It's the first one I read when I get my books because it's always the one I'm looking forward to most.

I love the new twists on everything from racing against Superman to the new Reverse Flash / Professor Zoom.

Anyone else in the same boat?

I like the Flash. He's a great charecter, although, I do not read his title.

I agree that the tv show rocked, btw the series lasted for 1 1/2 or more seasons. Mark Hammal even played the re-accuring villian, the Trickster.

So a lot has happened to the Flash since this thread has been posted in last.

Barry came back, Wally sort of disappeared and Flashpoint? (Don't even get me started).

Now we have The New 52, the DC continuity reboot and the result is Francis Manapul's first mainstream comic company writing project (being he had done art for an entire run/reboot of the title starring Bart Allen with Geoff Johns) as well as lending his skills in in the art. Backing him up for art (because who has that much time really? Did I mention Manapul also does the covers, the variants, and is working on his own personal side-project)? is Brian Buccellato, well known among the DC fan base.

Unfortunately, the title has been lagging and I couldn't find the words to why I felt this way. However this most recent review of last week's issue (Flash #8) by David Pepose from Newsarama really solidified it for me. This expresses (almost entirely) how I feel about the book and I am now giving them to issue #11, maybe #12 to keep me invested, or I'm dropping it like a hot rock and picking up any number of DC titles I'd rather have. Or going back to Amazing Spider-Man.

... Flash #8 is also less of a story and more of a continuity-building exercise, as Barry Allen gains a new adversary (actually, two!) and learns the secrets of the Speed Force. While Manapul and Buccellato do succeed in providing some context for the hazy speedster Valhalla, the question remains — do we really need to be discussing the intricacies of the source of the Flash's power this early on in this series? Shouldn't we be meeting (or relaunching) his Rogues Gallery, or defining his home turf of Central City, or maybe just building up Barry as a character?
... when I said Flash #8 was moving too fast — it's moving too fast towards telling a slow story. Barry Allen may be a release valve for the Speed Force, but honestly, why does that matter? I just want to see him in action, to take down the crooks and creeps of Central City, with no extra justification needed other than he moves at the speed of light. Examining the Speed Force in this level of detail is for continuity enthusiasts only, and draws out the story so far that Barry doesn't really do enough. This detour looks good, and it's clever enough, but it's still a detour — I'm hoping that with the latest cliffhanger, Manapul and Buccellato will leave the explanations at the door and let Barry Allen hit the ground running.

I'm a little confused that the next issue of Flash ( #9 ) Is going to resolve this whole Turbine thing. And all of this Speed Force development.

All of this is going to get resolved in the next issue because in June Flash #10 comes out and it looks like it's the Weather Wizard. Sooo... this is the first time I've ever said this about a DC comic but, I think the arcs are moving too fast.

So... I got issue #9. Is anyone else besides me completely confused as to where the hell the direction of this comic is going?

I think I'm gonna drop it for Batman, Inc. Any input is appreciated

Pierce Lydon lends his advice from the Newsarama review for Flash #9:

It might be the one thing truly holding this title back. This issue features Gorilla Grodd and an explanation of just how he fits into the Flash’s recent wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey adventures. The team continues to do what they’ve done best in building compelling plot points, but it almost seems like The Flash is extraneous because we have no real reason to care about what’s happening to him. The main storyline is interspersed with scenes depicting some of the supporting cast and while some of the dialogue is a little on the soap opera side, it does set up interesting questions and villains for future issues. The art is exactly as expected. Manapul delivers dynamic layouts, some excellent splash pages and possesses a gift for artistic storytelling that I’m sure makes other artists jealous. Manapul and Buccellato are clearly thinking about the broad strokes here, but I hope that in future issues we get a little bit more nuance and focus on character-building rather than world-building.

"The honest truth is, I’m not allowed to use Wally West," Manapul told retcon-punch.com. "That’s the basic truth. I’ve tried, I’ve tried to sneak him in there. I’ve tried to propose what I would do, but ultimately, I’m just not allowed to use him.

"The thing is, it kind of makes sense," he said. "I’ve been told that one of the big problems with introducing Wally West is that as soon as we introduce him, people are going to say, 'when is he going to become the Flash?' So essentially, by introducing him, we’re showing Barry Allen the door. Unfortunately, that’s the problem with introducing Wally West.